title: Bistable responses in bacterial genetic networks: designs and dynamical consequences.
abstract: A key property of living cells is their ability to react to stimuli with specific biochemical responses. These responses can be understood through the dynamics of underlying biochemical and genetic networks. Evolutionary design principles have been well studied in networks that display graded responses, with a continuous relationship between input signal and system output. Alternatively, biochemical networks can exhibit bistable responses so that over a range of signals the network possesses two stable steady states. In this review, we discuss several conceptual examples illustrating network designs that can result in a bistable response of the biochemical network. Next, we examine manifestations of these designs in bacterial master-regulatory genetic circuits. In particular, we discuss mechanisms and dynamic consequences of bistability in three circuits: two-component systems, sigma-factor networks, and a multistep phosphorelay. Analyzing these examples allows us to expand our knowledge of evolutionary design principles networks with bistable responses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA.
authors.forename: Abhinav
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tiwari
authors.forename: J Christian J
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.forename: Jatin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Narula
authors.forename: Oleg A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Igoshin
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000235:genetics*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010641:Phenotype; D049490:Systems Biology